Of no party or clique since 1857

The Atlantic

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Channel • 13 Shows

Politics

Politics

Updated weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Every two months
Self-Improvement

Self-Improvement

Weekly series
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated weekly
Technology

Technology

Every two weeks
Politics

Politics

Weekly series
Film Reviews

Film Reviews

Updated weekly

21 May

Higher Education’s Identity Crisis

Universities tried to be all things to all people. That model may not be working anymore. Adam Harris is joined by Ian Bogost, Atlantic contributing writer and a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, to discuss the state of higher education. On campuses across the country, students are graduating into a job market with questions on their mind. What kind of career is stable in 2026? Will AI make it even harder to get an entry-level job? Was my education worth all the money it cost? For universities that are already facing federal funding cuts and enrollment declines, the identity crisis their graduates are facing is an extension of their own: Is the purpose of college just to get a good job, or is there more to it? Colleges have been in rough spots before, but is it finally time to start rethinking their entire model? - - - Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 May

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32 min
15 May

Chris Hayes on Calibrating Your AI Anxiety

How should you feel about the AI boom? In this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel speaks with Chris Hayes about how to emotionally calibrate our response to this dizzying AI moment. Hayes describes why AI gives him “The Bad Feeling,” and how it led him to report on AI like an anthropologist would. The two discuss why AI is described as “the jagged frontier,” and they explore the distinction between using AI for creative thinking versus grunt work. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 May

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47 min
Season 4, Episode 6

How to Talk to People: How to Not Go It Alone

The values of individualism that encourage us to go it alone are in constant tension with the desire for community that many people crave. But when attempting to do things on our own, we may miss out on the joys of coming together. This season’s finale conversation features writer Mia Birdsong, who highlights the cultural and philosophical roots of Americans’ struggle to build community. In a culture pushing us to put our own oxygen mask on first, Mia argues for the quiet radicalness of asking for help and showing up for others. This episode was produced by Rebecca Rashid and is hosted by Julie Beck. Editing by Jocelyn Frank. Fact-check by Ena Alvarado. Engineering by Rob Smerciak. Special thanks to A.C. Valdez. The executive producer of Audio is Claudine Ebeid; the managing editor of Audio is Andrea Valdez. Be part of How to Talk to People. Write to us at howtopodcast@theatlantic.com. To support this podcast, and get unlimited access to all of The Atlantic’s journalism, become a subscriber. Music by Arthur Benson (“Organized Chaos,” “Charmed Encounter”), Alexandra Woodward (“A Little Tip,” “Just Manners”), Bomull (“Latte”), Tellsonic (“The Whistle Funk”), and Yonder Dale (“Simple Gestures”). Also: If you have any comments or suggestions about the show, submit feedback at theatlantic.com/listener-survey. We'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S4, E6

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39 min
14 May

The Gerrymandering Wars

There is an ongoing battle for House seats. And it’s playing out not so much in elections but in congressional maps. The Atlantic staff writers Russell Berman, who’s been covering the redistricting wars for the past several months, and Vann R. Newkirk II, who’s long followed the Voting Rights Act (and now its demise), explain how this new era of tit-for-tat gerrymandering is different than ever before. --- Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 May

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36 min
7 May

The Tragedy of the Tradwife

The author Caro Claire Burke discusses her debut novel, Yesteryear, about a tradwife influencer suddenly transported back to 1855 and faced with the harsh realities of actual pioneer life. The book is a No. 1 New York Times best seller, and its film rights have already been sold and Anne Hathaway is attached to star. Seen one way, the tradwife is just a social-media trend, sometimes soothing to watch, sometimes infuriating. But the fantasy that fuels the phenomenon—that women should be subservient to their husbands, staying at home and tending the hearth—reflects views in the real world, where actual policies get made. Burke talks about her novel and her own political evolution. - - - Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at ⁠TheAtlantic.com/Listener⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 May

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32 min
30 Apr

The 'Great Man' Presidency

Alexander the Great. Julius Caesar. Napoleon Bonaparte. Donald Trump The Atlantic staff writers Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer reported this week on the president privately comparing himself to the three norm-defying, world-historical figures highlighted in the work of the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. The president has also sought to make his mark across seemingly every manner of federal real estate, including national monuments and even currency and passports. If Trump’s focus is on himself as a great man of history, what is he doing—and, more notably perhaps, not doing—as president today? Read Ashley and Michael's article: “The YOLO Presidency.” - - - Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Apr

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32 min
23 Apr

Kash Patel's FBI

Last week, The Atlantic published a story about how FBI Director Kash Patel’s colleagues are alarmed by what they describe as erratic behavior and excessive drinking. Sources told staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick that, on multiple occasions, members of his security detail had trouble waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated. Patel called the story a “lie” and earlier this week sued The Atlantic for defamation. Fitzpatrick joins Radio Atlantic to talk about her reporting inside the FBI, and how sources she spoke with are concerned about the agency keeping Americans safe during a time of heightened threats. And we talk to our staff writer Quinta Jurecic about the state of Trump’s Justice Department after Pam Bondi’s firing. - - -Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Apr

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34 min
8 May

Flipping Off Phones

On this week’s episode of “Galaxy Brain,” Charlie Warzel talks with his Atlantic colleague Kaitlyn Tiffany about what our phones are doing to us. Tiffany recently wrote about swapping her iPhone for a flip phone as part of a movement called “Month Offline.” Kaitlyn talks through her personal experience: the joys and inconveniences of a dumbphone and the difficulty of unplugging completely. Warzel and Tiffany talk about the growing smartphone backlash, legal cases against “big tech,” and how, even if many people are convinced that their phones are a problem, the science remains far from conclusive regarding direct harm. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 May

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52 min
2 Mar

After Khamenei, What Now?

President Trump claimed victory after American strikes killed Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran who had terrorized his own citizens and people all over the world for decades. But what the fall of Khamenei means for the people of Iran going forward is not yet clear. We talk to Arash Azizi, an Iranian writer and contributor to The Atlantic, about how Iranians view the strike and what the realistic options are for future leadership. And we talk to the staff writer Anne Applebaum about the broader implications of Trump’s style of foreign intervention. - - - Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Mar

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31 min
5 Mar

A War Begun on Instinct

The president is trusting his gut, not Congress. The Atlantic staff writer Missy Ryan covers national security and has spent years reporting on American wars in the Middle East. She helps sift through the changing explanations for why the administration says it took America to war with Iran. And Senator Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, shares how she thinks Democrats can responsibly act as a check on Donald Trump now that the war has started. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Mar

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30 min

Exploring the American idea through ambitious, essential reporting and storytelling. Of no party or clique since 1857.